We had Linux phones. I learnt Python+Qt coding on a Nokia N900 (the N9's predecessor). I must emphasise on the "coding on" part. I would ssh into the phone and use it as a regular Linux box.

Something which the article omits is that Nokia changed it CEO to an ex-boardmember of MSFT. Comments in Slashdot that week were "this guy's gonna tank Nokia, kill their Linux research and sell out to MS". They were 100% accurate.

Make no mistake, Nokia didn't make "a mistake" or a simple bad call. Someone was placed at the top to sabotage and destroy it.